Sixteen rounds, 10 countries and one World Champion later, Season 10 has come to an end. It’s been a rollercoaster campaign, with eight different winners and 14 unique podium finishers, but it’s now time to reflect on some of the things we discovered from 2023/24.
World Champion Wehrlein
Since TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein joined the all-electric championship in Season 5, he’s shown great promise and potential. He joined Formula E after time with Mercedes as their Formula 1 Test Driver, and lifted the DTM title trophy at just 20-years-old as their youngest-ever champion.
His time with Mahindra Racing came to an abrupt end when he departed the team midway through the 2019/20 season, before joining the German giants Porsche from Season 7. It was a good call, as they have now achieved a World Championship together, as well as seven wins, 11 podiums and five Julius Baer Pole Positions.
The German-Mauritian driver managed to master qualifying this year with three poles to his name, and had some serious self belief when it came to hunting down this championship dream.
"Every day, every morning, every evening and every time training I believed in this – I told myself, ‘you can do this’. We executed it perfectly here from the first time we hit the track and were as strong as we’ve ever been – stronger.
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"It was a relief crossing the line because I don’t let the pressure get to me because I always put the most pressure on myself," Wehrlein added.
Jaguar ‘Do the Double’ at Home
Season 10 was always going to be a big year for the Jaguar TCS Racing crew. They brought in super talent Nick Cassidy alongside Mitch Evans, delivering one of the most anticipated driver pairings the championship had seen. Although once teammates in junior categories, the two were to face a new challenge as they went head-to-head to fight for the top spot at Jaguar on a World Championship stage.
Both drivers, unexpectedly, put on strong performances throughout the year, with Cassidy starting strong and Evans having a great second-half of the season. By the final races in London, Evans and Cassidy found themselves in the Drivers’ title hunt with Wehrlein. However, things didn’t work themselves out with Cassidy suffering from a puncture in the final event and Evans struggling with his ATTACK MODE activations in the crucial moments.
Despite the despair of coming away with no Drivers’ title, there was still plenty of reason to celebrate for Jaguar. They tied up both the Teams’ World Championship, and added on the inaugural Manufacturers' trophy. The achievement became the team’s first World Championship since 1991, and was a positive way to end such a solid campaign for the British marque.
Outrageous Overtakes and Close Competition
With lighter, faster and more agile race cars, and venues which enable plenty of passing, it was always known that this would be a season of fantastic racing. However, it’s been calculated that we saw an astonishing 3,813 overtakes over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. These huge numbers have been helped by the unique style of racing we have seen with this generation of Formula E, but just prove that there’s never a chance to sit still when watching an E-Prix!
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As well as being witness to some of Formula E’s best overtakes in its 10 year history – just look at that last lap in São Paulo for example – the level of competition across the grid has been incredible.
We had six different winners from six different teams over the first six rounds, with four powertrain suppliers providing those victories. That theme of unpredictability and closeness of the field never left either, as seven drivers headed into the London finale double-header with a mathematical chance of wrapping up the title.
Those numbers were only beaten by Season 5 when eight drivers were fighting for the honours of the Drivers’ title, and in Season 7 when 18 individuals were in contention for the first World Championship crown in the final rounds.
Expect the Unexpected
As well as the highs for the top teams, there were also lots of good stories sprinkled across the grid. Every full-time driver in Formula E over Season 10 scored championship points, and there were several standout moments for some of the teams that are usually towards the back of the grid.
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ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller was undoubtedly one of the stars of the season, achieving 52 of the 56 points the team ended the year on. He missed out on a podium in Misano by a matter of milliseconds, and continued to bank points for the team before announcing his departure ahead of the season finale in London.
That Italian weekend was also great for ERT, who saw their driver Dan Ticktum climb up the grid in an unpredictable race to go from 16th to fifth - and was promoted to fourth after the race - achieving his career best result in Formula E.
Mahinrda Racing also had a tough start to the year, but persevered and started to reap the rewards towards the end of the year. Edoardo Mortara picked up a fourth place in Portland, with teammate Nyck de Vries doing the same in London with Mortara just behind him in fifth.
However, as well as great tales there were also some challenging moments for those up and down the paddock.
Injury for NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird saw him ruled out of three races this season with a broken hand, as rookie Taylor Barnard made the step up to sub for him. It was a similar story for Nissan’s Oliver Rowland who was forced to pull out of the Portland double-header with an illness, which brought a premature end to a real chance at the championship.
We also watched some heartbreaking moments unfold on and off the track, such as Antonio Felix da Costa’s Misano disqualification after his race win due to a technical infraction and the win slipping from Rowland’s grasp a day later after a blip gave the team a wrong lap count on his car.
It really was a season of highs and lows, and shows just what a rollercoaster of emotions you can experience in a single season of Formula E.
Last Season for GEN3
Formula E has completed its final race of the GEN3 era, as the FIA Championship welcomes the GEN3 Evo from Season 11 onwards. The revolutionary GEN3 car provided us with so much excitement and brilliant racing, being the world’s first race car designed and optimised specifically for street racing.
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Developed by engineers and sustainability experts at the FIA and Formula E, the GEN3 was all about high performance, efficiency and sustainability and pioneered cutting-edge technologies that will make the transfer from race to road. It had around 95% power efficiency and was the first-ever formula car with both front and rear powertrains, and did not feature rear hydraulic brakes.
However, Formula E is always about improving and progressing when it comes to the future of technology and racing. Therefore, the GEN3 Evo is the next logical step. Revealed at the H.S.H Prince Albert II’s Private Car Collection, the magical machine was developed by specialists and marks a significant leap in electric racing technology, with acceleration 0-60mph 30% faster than a current F1 car, and 36% faster than the now-retired GEN3.
The GEN3 Evo is also faster, stronger, more agile than its predecessors, and features an aggressive new body kit designed to be stronger, more robust and more aerodynamic, delivering closer wheel-to-wheel racing. It also allows for all-wheel drive, a first for a Formula E car. This will be available during qualifying duels, race starts, and ATTACK MODE!
New Worldwide Locations
As well as returning to some of our favourite destinations, like a season starting in Mexico City and finishing up in London, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship also reached new ground in Season 10.
We went back to where it all began in China – Beijing being the venue of the championship’s first race a decade ago – and raced in Shanghai. The double-header weekend was a milestone for Formula E, with such a huge EV market in the Asian country and lots of love for us as the championship. Racing around the iconic Shanghai International Circuit, the event was a big success with plenty of great racing and last-lap dramas.
Formula E also raced in Japan for the first time, as we raced in Downtown Tokyo. The event attracted huge motorsport stars like Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift star Sung Kang. The event was won by Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther, but Nissan had a huge amount of support in the stands who went wild as Oliver Rowland put his car on pole for the Japanese manufacturer.
Italy was also back on the calendar, but at a new venue for Season 10. The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli welcomed Formula E with open arms, and resulted in two action-packed and drama-filled races.
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There will be plenty of big events for Season 11, too. Things will kick off in São Paulo, with Miami making an exciting return to the calendar followed by a double-header event in Monaco for the first time. Tokyo and Shanghai will both see two back-to-back races at each location, and Jakarta is making a comeback for the first time since Season 9.